


E is for Expectations

by FenHarelMaGhilana (WhitethornWolf)



Series: Fortune Favour Me [18]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-08 23:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/448955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhitethornWolf/pseuds/FenHarelMaGhilana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Eilin makes her displeasure known.</p>
            </blockquote>





	E is for Expectations

_"Marry?"_ Eilin exclaimed, so loudly even the servants stared at her. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Your eighteenth birthday has come and gone," Eleanor replied, exchanging a glance with her husband across the dining table. "Your father and I were thinking it was past time we found a husband for you."

"And where was I when this discussion took place?" Eilin demanded, stabbing a piece of bacon with her fork and glaring at Fergus when he snorted. Oriana laid a hand on his arm, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. Oren stuffed a forkful of food in his mouth and glanced between them, eyes bright with curiosity.

 _Maker, why did they have to bring this up in front of the entire family?_ Eilin thought, watching as her father reached for the fruit bowl.

"It was only last night," Bryce said, clearing his throat. "I thought perhaps one of--"

"Do not say Arl Wulff's sons," she warned him. "Not after what happened last summer--"

"--Bann Reginalda's son Cade," he finished calmly. Grabbing a pear from the fruit bowl, he cut it in half and passed the rest to Eleanor. "He's about your age. Perhaps a year younger."

"He hasn't seen the sun in about seven years, Father! You think I don't know who he is? I'm not marrying some pasty-faced whelp who doesn't know the sharp end of a sword."

"What's a whelp?" Oren interrupted.

"Your aunt is being childish," Eleanor said, smiling fondly at the boy. "Cade might not be the most proficient with a blade, but that doesn't mean he is not someone you can marry."

"Well, what of Arl Howe's son, then?" Bryce said, when Eilin shook her head. "Surely he can't be so terrible? I'm told he's good with a sword."

His daughter glared daggers at him. "I would rather marry my hound."

"By all means," Fergus said humorously. "With the way you talk to him, I'd say you're not too far off."

"Brother, you're so very clever. Do shut up." Without pause, Eilin put down her fork and folded her arms. "I don't see why I have to marry at all."

"Because it is expected of you," Eleanor replied sharply. "You know this."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Eilin struggled to keep her temper under control.

"I know it is expected of me," she said in a low voice, her jaw set. "I know that. But I don't even want to marry. Why should I? You have your heir. Fergus will be teyrn after you, and Oren after him. Why should it matter what I do?"

The hall fell silent. Her parents exchanged surprised glances, and Fergus raised his eyebrows in a look so reminiscent of Father that she would have laughed any other time. Right now, it made her angry.

Eleanor put down her fork and regarded her daughter with a stern look. "You are as much a part of this family as everyone at this table," she said. "Your marriage - or lack thereof - concerns us as much as it does you. It concerns us plenty."

"It doesn't concern me at all!" Eilin snapped. Shoving her plate away, she pushed her chair back roughly and stood. "I'm not a prize! I won't be sold off to some stupid noble's son to breed like a bloody mabari bitch!"

_"Eilin!"_

Whirling, she strode from the hall, pushing roughly past a startled servant. She slammed the door behind her and rounded the corner, slumping against the wall, closing her eyes with a sigh.

That display would cost her. Father would forgive her the outburst - it was one of many over the years, truth be told - but Mother would not forgive so easily. She hated outbursts, especially in front of the servants.

But marriage! _Really_. Being a lady was all well and good, but was there to be nothing more to her life than children and needlework? The thought made her shudder.

 _I want my life to be my own,_ she thought unhappily, and tilted her head back to stare at the sky. _Why is that hard to understand?_


End file.
